In April, A9 released their 2nd EP album “LIGHT AND DARKNESS,” featuring new music that showcases their brand new sound. To celebrate, they held a nationwide tour with 16 stops titled “TRUTH IN LIGHT AND DARKNESS.” The final stop took place in the heart of Tokyo at TSUTAYA O-EAST on May 29th, where over 2,000 fans crowded into the venue to see and hear A9’s new music.

Drummer Nao stepped onto the stage first without any music or introduction whatsoever, but with much applause. He took his seat at the drumset and began to play. One by one, the other members took their place and added to the music: Saga on bass, Hiroto and Tora on guitar, and finally, Show on vocals.

For the first part of the show, the main feature was the absence of light. No stage lights were used during their performance. The only source came from fans’ light bracelets (in 9 colors!) and from stunning visuals displayed on a giant projector screen.

Their set began with SILVER, the jazzy rhythm and Show’s clear vocals making fans clap. Cheers erupted after the song was finished. The set featured remixes of keystone songs Hana and RAINBOWS. The most stunning song of Part 1 was the last song, Hello, World. It began with a crazy solo by Hiroto, punctuated by fans’ clapping and visuals of outer space (including astronauts) on the projection screen. Instead of Show’s vocals, the verses were an impassioned monologue by bassist Saga, later joined by Show’s melodic voice in the chorus. The song finished, the members exited the stage, and Part 1 was over.

(1曲目はSILVER。

ジャズなリズムで将のクリーンなボーカルと共にファンが手拍子。

続いて、バンドにとって大事な昔の曲「華」と「RAINBOWS」がクールにリアレジされた。

第一部で一番印象的な曲は7曲目「ハロー、ワールド」。

ヒロトからのギターソロで始まり、スクリーンで宇宙や宇宙飛行士の映像が映った。

詩節の部分では将のボーカルではなく、沙我が歌詞を熱く語り、サビで将の美しい歌声を披露し第一部が終了した。)

Part 2

A video of clips from the 15 other performances on the tour played on the screen. Then light so bright that it hurt your eyes flooded the stage, and the members returned. Part 2 opened with PRISMATIC, a track off the new EP. The mood of both the audience and members brightened. Fans began to mosh to the fan favorite TSUBASA.

(スクリーンで「TRUTH IN LIGHT AND DARKNESS」15本の公演からビデオクリップが映って、歓声と眩しいステージライトと共にメンバーが再登場。

第二部は2nd EP収録曲の「PRISMATIC」から始まった。

第一部の雰囲気と違って、メンバーとファンも明るくなって盛り上がり始めた。

2曲目では「TSUBASA.」が演奏され、ファンもモッシュした。)

They paused for a brief MC from Saga, who explained that had he wanted to become someone’s light in the darkness, but he said it was ultimately the fans that supported them.

“Are you ready, Shibuya!?” Show prefaced Kowloon -NINE HEADS RODEO SHOW-, a song that fans were encouraged to jump and mosh. Then, after some teasing, they surprised veteran fans by playing JEWELS. The song’s bright key and Show’s vocals lifted up everyone’s spirits.

(MCでは沙我が「「TRUTH IN LIGHT AND DARKNESS」では、誰かの光になれたらいいなと思っていたが、逆にファンの支えがバンドとして何よりも光になった」と思いを語った。

The hottest part of the show by far was for the 10th and 11th songs, THE LAST EMPIRE and DEAD SCHOOL SCREAMING. The latter featured repeated gyakudai and moshing from fans, and death screams from each member when Show held the microphone to their mouth. The set ended with Yami ni Chiru Sakura, and Part 2 came to an end.

(10曲目と11曲目の「THE LAST EMPIRE」と「DEAD SCHOOL SCREAMING」では会場がさらにヒートアップ。

将が他のメンバーのところにいき、一人ずつシャウトをして会場を盛り上げ、ファンが何度も逆ダイを繰り返した。

最後に「闇二散ル桜」が演奏されて第二部が終了。)

Encore

Calls for an encore began immediately. The members emerged wearing tour t-shirts and hoodies. Hiroto became the “merch master” and introduced some of the tour goods (a photo book and a handkerchief) by rapping about them freestyle. The first encore song was Eraser, featuring a softer side of Show’s vocals and a melody that made for easy listening.

Each member took the time to say something during a long MC. Saga explained how he was worried about Part 1 (DARKNESS) of the show because he thought it wasn’t the kind of A9 that fans came to see, but the audience seemed to enjoy it.

Show reflected a bit on the band’s history. When the band restarted activities, he explained, he looked at it as more of the continuation of their neverending story, rather than the end of the old Alice Nine.

Hiroto prefaced his MC by saying, “I have too many things to say.” Show answered, “We’ll probably be here until 3am,” and Hiroto agreed. He thanked everyone—staff, members, and fans—for their help on the tour, and also talked about how their restart was more of a beginning than an ending. “We won’t disband, not even if we only have one fan left!” Hiroto vowed, to which fans cheered wildly.

They returned to the second song of their encore—which elicited excited cheers from fans—Velvet. Fans and band came together as one for the A9 classic. Their final song of the encore was Blue Planet, the first part of which Show let the audience sing for them. The members exited the stage one by one, Hiroto being the last.

The fan’s cheers brought the band back for one more song. Show explained they wanted to wrap up the tour with a song that encompassed the meaning of it. And so began another round of PRISMATIC. Show urged fans to jump instead of clap during the chorus, bringing more energy into the song. At the end of the song, Show thanked everyone involved again and they took a group picture with the fans. And so, “TRUTH IN LIGHT AND DARKNESS” came to a close.

(アンコールの2曲目「ヴェルヴェット」が始まり、ファンとバンドが一体となった。

最後の曲は将の振り付けの指定から始まり、ファンにマイクを向けたらファンが「ブループラネット」を歌い始めた。

しかしファンからの熱いアンコールにより、メンバーが再登場。

将がこの「TRUTH IN LIGHT AND DARKNESS」の一番表現している曲をやりたいと言って、もう一回ダブルアンコールで「PRISMATIC」を演奏。